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Select Works of Plotinus · 84 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 92

Section 2 2. Supposing we accept this view and hold that, while things below the moon's orb have merely type-persistence, the celestial realm and all its several members possess individual eternity; it remains to show how this strict permanence of the individual identity- the actual item eternally unchangeable- can belong to what is certainly corporeal, seeing that bodily substance is characteristically a thing of flux. The theory of bodily flux is held by Plato no less than by the other philosophers who have dealt with physical matters, and is applied not only to ordinary bodies but to those, also, of the heavenly sphere. "How," he asks, "can these corporeal and visible entities continue eternally unchanged in identity?"- evidently agreeing, in this matter also, with Herakleitos who maintained that even the sun is perpetually coming anew into being. To Aristotle there would be no problem; it is only accepting his theories of a fifth-substance. But to those who reject Aristotle's Quintessence and hold the material mass of the heavens to consist of the elements underlying the living things of this sphere, how is individual permanence possible? And the difficulty is still greater for the parts, for the sun and the heavenly bodies. Every living thing is a combination of soul and body-kind: the celestial sphere, therefore, if it is to be everlasting as an individual entity must be so in virtue either of both these constituents or of one of them, by the combination of soul and body or by soul only or by body only. Of course anyone that holds body to be incorruptible secures the desired permanence at once; no need, then, to call on a soul or on any perdurable conjunction to account for the continued maintenance of a living being. But the case is different when one holds that body is, of itself, perishable and that Soul is the principle of permanence: this view obliges us to the proof that the character of body is not in itself fatal either to the coherence or to the lasting stability which are imperative: it must be shown that the two elements of the union envisaged are not inevitably hostile, but that on the contrary [in the heavens] even Matter must conduce to the scheme of the standing result.
Themes
◆Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

It posits that similar processes of persistence obtain in both the earthly and celestial realms, implying structural similarity.

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◆Emanation Hierarchycosmology

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

The distinction between persisting Ideal-forms and changing material mass implies a hierarchy of being where forms are superior.

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◆Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The Will of God is depicted as actively coping with flux and reintroducing forms, indicating a dynamic divine presence.

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◆Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

It compares the conditions of the living All to those of man and horse to explain cosmic duration.

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◇Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

[auto] It contrasts the ceaseless flux of material mass with the persistence of Ideal-forms, highlighting a spirit-matter distinction.

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◇Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

[auto] The passage centrally debates how the Will of God actively sustains the universe against flux and decay by reintroducing forms.

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◇Logoscosmology

The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.

[auto] The passage describes the Will of God as an ordering principle that reintroduces forms into matter, mediating between ideal persistence and material flux.

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◇Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

[auto] The text emphasizes the integrity of the Whole and the unity of idea ensuring the perpetuity of the All.

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Related passages · 7 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 4 (part 3)
“7.) "We cannot reasonably suppose any formation or differentiation to have existed in the eternal One from which, or according to which (formation) something could have been made; for if such a form, or predisposition to making a form, had…”
Both passages explore the nature of divine creation and the persistence of forms. They discuss the eternal and unchangeable nature of the divine, and how creation emanates from this divine essence, though they use different metaphors and conceptual frameworks.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 6)
“1.) "The terrestrial consciousness corrupted the celestial one, and the former became the Turba of the latter. Likewise, the Fiat made the earth and stones out of the eternal essentiality." ( Menschwerdung , i. 9.) "But in the earth we fi…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the divine and the material world, discussing the persistence of forms and the interplay between the eternal and the temporal. They share a mystical perspective on the nature of existence and the role of divine will in sustaining the universe.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 11 (part 7)
“48.) "The soul and the Word are not one or one being. The soul is born from the centre of nature, from the essences, and belongs to the body, for she issues from the essences of the body, and attracts to herself the body; but the Word is f…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the soul and the divine or eternal aspects of existence. Passage A discusses the permanence of celestial bodies through the interaction of soul and body, while Passage B describes the penetration and illumination of the soul by the divine Word, highlighting the interplay between the human and the divine.
◆platonism|Plato: Phaedo|Section 1q
“Then reflect, Cebes: is not the conclusion of the whole matter this?-that the soul is in the very likeness of the divine, and immortal, and intelligible, and uniform, and indissoluble, and unchangeable; and the body is in the very likeness…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship to the body, particularly in terms of permanence and impermanence. They share a conceptual parallel in discussing the immortality and purity of the soul versus the corporeal and changeable nature of the body.
◆taoism|Tao Te Ching|Chapter 7
“Heaven is long-enduring and earth continues long. The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they are able to continue and endure. Therefore the…”
Both passages explore the idea of enduring existence and the nature of permanence. Passage A discusses the selflessness of the sage and how it leads to preservation, while Passage B examines the permanence of celestial bodies and the role of soul and body in their enduring existence. Both texts touch on the theme of enduring existence through a form of selflessness or transcendence of individuality.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter II (part 6)
“." 1 But the formula defining "space" as "the form of matter in the universe" suffers from this deficiency, that there is introduced in it the concept of "matter," i.e., the unknown . I have already spoken of that "dead-end siding," x=y, y…”
Both passages explore the abstract and conceptual nature of matter and its perception, questioning the ability to observe matter and force independently of phenomena and objects. They both delve into the philosophical and metaphysical aspects of these concepts, though from different traditions.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 12)
“He clearly affirms: I confess that I am very much inclined to assert the existence of immaterial natures in the world, and to put my soul itself into that class of beings. These immaterial beings . . . are immediately united with each o…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the material and immaterial aspects of existence, particularly focusing on the nature of the soul and its connection to the body. They both discuss the idea of a dual existence, one in the material world and one in the immaterial or spiritual world, and the permanence of the soul beyond the perishable body.